The Inner Workings of the Mind
by LauraHeartfilia
Summary: A collection of one-shots about the feelings the mages of Fairy Tail hold deep in their hearts. They will cover everything: their fears, their sadness, their hope, their happiness, and of course, most importantly, their bonds.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is the start of a collection of one-shots about the inner feelings of the characters of Fairy Tail. It was originally supposed a collection of songfics, but then I found out they were banned D: Honestly, they need to make it clearer in the 'Rules and Guidelines' section -_- Anyway, enjoy!**

She still had dreams about it.

Minerva haunted her every nightmare. Her face. Her self-satisfied smile. The pure evil glint in her eye. Lucy Heartfilia could not even close her eyes without a picture of her attempted murderer appearing at the front of her mind. Her fear and hopelessness that she had felt on that day had stayed with her, and never left her side, not even once. Sure, there were no _visible_ scars, but as Gray once said, the worse scars are the ones you don't see.

Lucy was beginning to understand what he meant.

One blow came after another, transforming Lucy's entire life into an endless series of pain and suffering. It hurt. It hurt like freaking hell. Words could not simply describe how much she had wanted to surrender, but she knew that was something she just could not do. She had to do this for her guild, her friends, her family; she could not simply 'give up'! To do so would be a slap in the face to those who had fought hard and sustained great injuries just to get this far.

The hits intensified. It was as if her iron will had infuriated Minerva even further. Everything became blurry, and her thoughts all jumbled into one. All she could see was the pain. All she could hear was the pain. All she could feel was the pain.

Amongst all the confusion, one loud, pure thought exploded in her brain: Was this it? Was this the end for her? After all she had been through, all her adventures, all her _mis_adventures, was this _really _how it would end? Alone, surrounded by an endless sea of deadly hot water, being tortured with no one to comfort her?

Was this really-

"Stop! Please, someone help me!" Lucy screamed as she sat upright in bed, sweat dripping down her forehead. "Huh? It was... Just a dream?"

Her heartbeat slowed as she stared down at her hands. They were still shaking. God, she was pathetic. Being reduced to a trembling mess just because of a bad dream. _So _pathetic.

She didn't _want _to be this way. In fact, she hated it, but she couldn't escape the facts; she was weak. A coward. A _'Trash Woman'_, as Minvera would put it.

Wait, since when had her bed been so warm? And so _un-comfy_ too? Curious - and somewhat paranoid - Lucy dared to look under the the covers.

Emotion welled up in her chest: curled up around her lay Natsu, Happy, Gray, Wendy and Erza. Happy had even wrapped his paws over her stomach, the lil' cutie. She gently hugged them all tight. Usually she would be annoyed at the intrusion, but for now, it was alright. Yes, it was certainly alright.

"God, I love you weirdos..." she whispered.

All of a sudden, the traumatic memories disappeared. She no longer cared if she was the 'Trash Woman', or if she was weak and pathetic. That didn't matter anymore. The only thing that mattered was her indescribable love for her teammates. She remembered Natsu and Grays warm hands as they caught her on the sandy floor of the arena. She remembered the warmth of Wendy's healing touch as she tried desperately to save her friend. She remembered the way Erza had stood over her, whilst glaring fiercely at the Sabertooth mage, and the warning she uttered:

_"You have taken the single guild you mustn't anger... And made it your enemy!"_

Silently, she thanked each of friends for saving her both then, and now.


	2. Gajeel

When Gajeel looked back at his time as a member of Phantom Lord, he was overcome with an unusual sense of disgust with the person he used to be. He had never really thought that he had changed that much since joining Fairy Tail, but he figured that, at some point, he must have. Maybe it was when he teamed up with Natsu, a former enemy, to defeat Laxus. Or maybe it was when he found himself in another world, gifted with the task of saving the asses of his 'nakama'. Heck, maybe it was when he met Pantherlily, and finally found his kindred spirit.

Back in Phantom, nobody trusted him (Well, except maybe Juvia. But Juvia was crazy, so that didn't really count). For some reason, every single member treated him with disdain, and looked upon him as if he had some sort of highly contagious disease. He wanted to punch every single one of them. _Treat me like shit, kids, then guess what? I treat YOU like shit, how do ya like that, huh?_

But at Fairy Tail, things were different. Despite all the horrific things he had done, and all the people he had hurt, the Master was still able to extend his hand to him, and treat him like one of his own. To be honest, he was shocked. He had always thought that everyone in this world was selfish, and would stab you in the back without a moments hesitation if they ever got a chance. He thought that nobody ever, ever gave second chances.

It turned out he was wrong.

* * *

However, there was still one thing that bothered him. One single thing that had kept him awake every single night for the past year.

The 'tree incident'.

He couldn't even bear to think about it. Why had he done that? What on Earthland had possessed him to perform such a despicable and inhumane act? God, he wanted to punch _himself _in the face.

Besides, it wasn't even like she had done anything wrong. Out of everyone in the ENTIRE guild, Levy Mcgarden was the gentlest, kindest, and most innocent member.

That only made him feel worse.

Not only that, but Levy was actually the _only one _who had acknowledged him as a guild member from the very start. Whenever anyone had mentioned getting revenge for all he did to them back when he was in Phantom, she defended him. Whenever anyone had uttered a single word about him not belonging in Fairy Tail, Levy always spoke up of all the times he had looked out for not only her, but other members as well. And that was when Gajeel made his silent oath.

As an act of repentance, he would constantly ensure her safety above all others, including his own. He would make it his duty to offer his help whenever she needed it, if he could be of any use. He WOULD make it up to her; contrary to popular belief, Gajeel Redfox was a man of honor.

Of course, he would never admit all this to Levy. But seeing as she was so smart and all, she had probably already figured all this out.

**Thanks for reading guys! I might do the next one about Ultear, Erza, Jellal, or Mirajane. Hm. Or maybe Lucy's father. Hm. I don't know.**


	3. Erza

**Greetings, readers! I FINALLY uploaded something again. To those of you who are waiting for the next chapter of Everyone's Favorite Wizards, I PROMISE I WILL UPDATE SOON AND I AM SOSOSO SORRY FOR NOT DOING IT SOONER. I've been working on my original novel, sooo... Well, anyway, here's Erza's chap. I really hope you like it. I'm especially proud of this one. Please review.**

She shut her eyes. Inhaled. Exhaled. Held her sword high. She was ready.

Erza Scarlet, the Titania, Queen of the Fairies, was ready to face the 100 monsters that lay waiting for her in Pandemonium. Ready and willing.

She had been through a hell of a lot before reaching this point: she'd gone from happiness to slavery, from slavery to torture, then to complete and utter emotional isolation, and finally, at long last, she arrived back at happiness again. Although it had been a long journey, and much of it had hurt like a son of a bitch, she would never change a single thing, not even if she was offered the whole world - she felt as if her entire life had been building her up for this moment, preparing her, making her stronger, braver. It was as if this battle, this battle which was soon to begin, would be what defined her life. Don't ask her why; it was just a _feeling _she had, and in most cases, Erza's _feelings _were dead on right.

Titania was confident and fulfilled, more than she had ever been before. Not only that, but she was _grateful,_ too. Grateful that she had been granted this perfect opportunity to pay back all those who had done so much for her over the years. Despite her attempts to clear her thoughts and focus on nothing but the upcoming battle, she couldn't help but picture the grin of overflowing pride that would no doubt glow on Master Makarov's face once she had emerged victorious. The thought caused her to suppress a small smile that was beginning to creep onto her face. The little yet powerful old man had been the closest thing Erza had ever had to a father, and, like a true daughter, nothing would make her happier than to see him cheer for her, louder than anyone else. Nothing at all.

The monsters appeared. Battle had begun.

They came one after another, each one with a new attack, new strength, or new strategy in order to try and destroy the puny little insect that had invaded their home, but not even once did the Fairy Queen waver, or fall for any of their tricks. It was as if a sort of divine deity had taken over her body, making her invincible, yet at the same time, she never felt more _in control _than she did whilst fighting these creatures. This was her territory now, Fairy Tail's territory, and she intended to keep it that way.

The slashes, cuts and burns kept on coming, but Erza hardly felt them. She just kept battling on, a lone warrior, just her and her blade against the world. And she was loving every second of it.

An airborne, snake-like beast came flying towards her at break-neck speed, it's deadly spiked wings raised high above it's scaly head. In an instant, Erza's body was alight in a golden shimmer of magic, before being adorned with her 'Flight Armor'. As the monstrosity met her eye, she dived gracefully to the side in a flash of leopard-print cloth, and flung one of her two swords in the direction of it's demonic face. With a flourish of deep red monster blood, the creature dropped limply to the ground. Meanwhile, Erza, already on to her next target, elegantly pirouetted in the air. She had, in the blink of an eye, requipped into her Robe of Yuen, a personal favourate of hers, and defeated two more monsters at once. In one swift and beautiful movement, she had wrapped her slender legs around the back of a thin and skeletal beast with pointed eyes and teeth. She twisted.

With a strangled cry, it fell.

She carried on like this for a while, although to both her and her onlookers it felt like an eternity. Each one of her skillful kills - for they were all skillful, she was the Titania after all - enthralled and captivated the audience, no matter who they were or where they came from. Even Sabertooth, Fairy Tail's sworn rivals, couldn't help but be moved and humbled by Erza's earnest and simple desire to just _keep moving forward,_ for the sake of those she loved, despite all the hardships she was forced to endure. Because that's what love is, isn't it? When your needs come second, or maybe even third, behind your friends and family? When your feelings, thoughts and emotions are tied tightly and directly to another's feelings, thoughts and emotions?

Erza certainly believed that that's what love is.

When the last monster had been vanquished, she once again raised her now-crumbling sword up towards the sky in triumph. She was tattered and torn, bruised and bleeding, but still, she was beautiful.

There was a moment of total, deafening silence.

3... 2... 1...

"THAT'S MY ERZA FOR YA'!"

The crowd had erupted into cheers, and the loudest one, of course, was that of Master Makarov. For a second, Erza could have sworn there was a glimmer of Grandpa Rob being reflected from his eyes. Then, in a second, it was gone. But it made her happy, nonetheless.

No matter who you are, or where you come from, you can't possibly deny that there is certainly something deeply special about Erza Scarlet.


End file.
